Minecraft Quilt - Part 3

Progress! I was right. After finishing those 256-square blocks, the 64-square ones are a walk in the park.












 I am running into a small problem. Mathematically, all of these blocks should be turning out 16-1/2", assuming my seam allowance is a consistant 1/4"...but it's not working out that way. My 64-square blocks are turning out closer to 16" square, and the 256-square blocks are 16"x almost 17". Since I have NO intention of re-doing any of them, I'll just trim them all to whatever the smallest size winds up to be when they're all done. I'll lose a little bit from the edges but I've decided to be okay with that.

7 down - 5 to go...then on to sashing...

Minecraft Quilt - Part 2

Most of the blocks in this quilt are constructed with 64 2-1/2" squares. Not too terribly time-consuming. There are two, however, that need smaller pixels to really get the effect. So they're made up of 1-1/2" squares...256 of them to be exact. Oy! Today I tackled the first of them...the Sword. I learned a few things along the way

First problem I ran into was the interfacing. It comes 20" wide...but I needed 24-1/2", so I had to do this block in two pieces. It's also too big to use my handy dandy pressing board so I had to iron the squares onto the interfacing in sections on my regular ironing board. Boo.

For this block, I needed 173 squares of white, which I would be cutting from yardage. Let me introduce you to my favorite tool for lots of strips or squares. It's a real time saver - The Stripology Ruler by Creative Grids. It's got slits every 1/2". See those stars along the bottom? They're conveniently placed every 1-1/2", so all you have to do is cut through the slits with the stars. No math or measuring required! The squares are placed every 2-1/2" - perfect for jelly roll quilts and binding. I use this ruler a LOT.

Once the strips are cut, you carefully pick up the ruler and place it going the other direction. Cut through all your star slits again and you've got a gazillion perfect little 1-1/2" squares in just a few cuts. I was cutting through 8 layers of fabric here so I got over 200 squares.

I cut the colored squares with a regular ruler then headed to the ironing board to arrange the whole thing.

When working with multiple pieces that will be sewn together, you have to be careful to sew all the rows in one direction on both pieces first. Here are mine ready to be sewn together.

One more tip: Starting and stopping frequently wastes a lot of thread and you can wind up with some weird bunched up stitching at the beginning of each row. To prevent this, I almost never pull my piece out and clip the threads. Instead, I keep a few scraps next to my sewing machine and sew directly off of my block and onto the scrap, leaving the presser foot down the whole time. Once the scrap is through, I clip the thread to get my block off...bring it back to the front and sew off the scrap directly onto my block again.



It's coming together nicely! One more crazy block with 256 squares, then the rest will seem easy!

Quilts With Meaning

What makes a quilt special? I love a beautiful artistic quilt as much as the next girl...but my favorites of all time are the ones attached to memories. One that's been used to make forts in the living room and for picnics in the yard have way more meaning to me than anything packed away and kept in pristine condition because it's too good to use. Or how about one made out of a loved ones clothes? Now that's a treasure!

This month, I've had the privilege to help preserve some sweet old treasures for a new generation. These precious quilts had lived good lives. Some of the hand stitching had come loose. Some of the fabric was disintegrating from being loved and used for so many years. The proud owners still treasured them, but had packed them away in a closet to prevent further damage. Well what good is that? Who's going to enjoy them now? That's where I come in.

This one wasn't in too bad of shape. One corner block was damaged, and the binding was torn, but the rest of the quilt was just fine. They just didn't want it on a bed and it was too big to use as a throw. I cut off the row with the damaged block, split the whole thing down the middle, and added new binding. Now there are two throw-sized quilts ready for couch cuddling.





Then there was this one. Several bad places on the original. Not enough to salvage for one large quilt or throw...but it still had some good spots with life left in them. I cut eight 16" blocks, added flannel sashing between them, and new batting and backings. Then I quilted right over the top of all of it and put on new binding. Now it's two baby quilts!





This one was the most-loved of all...and it showed! It was all I could do to get 30 6-1/2"x10-1/2" rectangles out of it. I zig-zagged with clear thread over any sections that were coming loose. Next I added 2-1/2"x10-1/2" strips to the long sides of my quilt pieces, and alternated them vertically and horizontally. Here it is sandwiched with new batting and backing and it's ready to quilt. See that bottom right corner there? It was the original label from the back of the quilt embroidered with the giver and recipients names on it. I knew they'd want to save that piece!

If you've got an heirloom hiding away in a closet, I urge you to LET IT OUT! It was meant to be used...and I believe the original quilt maker would smile if she saw these re-quilts. Her work was loved and lives on for her great-great-great-grandchildren.

Minecraft Quilt - Part 1

I don't know much about Minecraft...except that all the little men in my life are into it...and one particular little man needs a new quilt for his bed. Because it's all pixels, creating a pattern on graph paper would be easy enough, but a quick google search led me to one someone else had already created and generously shared.

http://slightlyoffquilter.com/pixel-quilt/

Score! The only thing that looked particularly bothersome was keeping all the little squares in the right place while sewing them together. I'd seen this technique on YouTube and a block like this seemed like a perfect use for it.

First, I cut a 20" square of fusible interfacing. I make a lot of t-shirt quilts and prefer the lightest weight (and least expensive) kind you can buy for those...so that's what I used for this. In hindsight, something a little thicker would have been better but it worked out okay.

One side is bumpy (the adhesive side) and the other side is smoothe. I drew a 2-1/2" grid on the smoothe side. Eight across and eight down. 

**Sidenote...there is such thing as fusible interfacing with a 1" grid already printed on it...but it's about $4/yd...and it's marked every 1"...and I needed the lines on the 1/2"...so I decided not to spend the extra money**

Next I cut a gazillion 2-1/2" squares using a variety of shades of green. All the blocks in this quilt use several shades of each color, so I'm using pre-cuts of Kona solids that I ordered from Missouri Star Quilt Company...my favorite online quilt shop.

On the bumpy side of the interfacing, I arranged the eyes and mouth first, then filled in the rest of the squares randomly with several shades of greens.

Next I ironed them all in place. See my big square ironing surface? MUCH easier than trying to use my regular ironing board. I made this just for this project but I think it'll come in handy for lots of things. It's just a 24" square piece of 1/2" plywood covered in two layers of batting with fabric on top. Very handy!

After I ironed it all down, I flipped it over and gave it a good press on the back for good measure.

Now comes the fun part. I folded over one row at a time, using my drawn lines as my guide, and sewed down all the vertical rows with a quarter inch seam allowance.

Here it is all stitched together one direction.

Next, I clipped the seams being careful not to clip through the stitching.

Then I sewed down the horizontal lines, making sure the intersecting seam allowances lay flat.

Gave it a good press from the back...

And voila! It's a Creeper (or so I'm told).

And  there's Lava...

And a Zombie...

And more to come...I'm on a roll!